ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Online Registration for Agniveer Army Recruitment begins, Army Recruitment Office Amritsar invites applications from candidates
Online Registration for Agniveer Army Recruitment commenced from 16 February till 15 March 2023. All interested candidates desirous to join Indian Army as Agniveer may apply online from the official website of Indian army- www.joinindianarmy.nic.in only. The applications are invited from candidates hailing from districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. All unmarried eligible Male/Female candidates born between 01 October 2002 to 01 April 2006  with requisite education qualification can apply for Agniveer , Agniveer Clerk/ Storekeeper Technical, Agniveer Technical , Agniveer General Duty  categories. Applications are also invited from eligible male candidates for Soldier Technical  and Sepoy Pharma categories. Candidates are hereby informed that complete procedure for recruitment in Indian Army has now changed from this year. The recruitment procedure will now start with an online written examination in a multiple choice questionnaire format at different Centres across the country. The online examinations will commence from 17 April onwards. The physical recruitment rally of all successful candidates will take place as earlier. Details of the rally location and date will be announced separately.
Department of Atomic Energy
Mining of Rare Earth Elements
The Rare Earth  resources in India are reported to be the fifth largest in the world. Indian resource is significantly lean w.r.t. grade and it is tied with radioactivity making the extraction long, complex and expensive. Further, Indian resource contain Light Rare Earth Elements  while Heavy Rare Earth Elements  are not available in extractable quantities.
In case of rare earths, a long drawn eco-system in value chain is required to move from reserves to finished product comprising of large number of processes/plants. This includes obtaining statutory clearances, mining, mineral beneficiation, RE extraction, separation, refining in oxides, metal extraction, alloy making. Specific to RE magnet, one need to convert alloy to magnet and thereafter application of finished product as motor in energy saving appliances. As such in a finished product, usage of rare earths is in minuscule quantity.
While India has existing facilities from mining to separation and refining in oxide form and also developed capability of metal extraction, but further industrial scale facilities  from alloy, magnet etc. are non-existent. In these alloys, RE is a minor component and other than Rare Earth Elements  many other materials are required. Though from the stages of metal extraction onwards, the sector is under free category,industry in the intermediate segment have not been established due to non-availability of technology.
13.07 million tonnes in-situ monazite  resource occurring in the coastal beach placer sands in parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and in the inland placers in parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. More than 80 % of the usage of rare earths in value terms is in RE permanent magnets which require Magnetic REE i.e. Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium. These are precious REE since they find use in energy transition initiatives. High value REE are Dysprosium and Terbium which are not available in extractable quantities in Indian reserves already under exploitation. In Indian deposits, only Neodymium and Praseodymium are available and are being extracted upto 99.9 % purity level. Neodymium and Praseodymium occur in the BSM ore of Indian deposits to the extent of 0.0011 to 0.012%. Minability of REE is further constrained due to CRZ regulations, Mangroves, Forest and inhabitation.
In India, capability for exploiting its rare earth resources  upto metal extraction exist. With regard to foreign collaboration, Toyotsu Rare Earths India Limited, Visakhapatnam, a subsidiary of Toyoto Tsusho Corporation, Japan is engaged in refining of rare earths by sourcing rare earth concentrate from IREL.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
There have been no outages in Aadhaar – PAN/EPFO linking facility: UIDAI
Unique Identification Authority of India  today said that all its services are stable and functioning fine. There have been no outages in its Aadhaar – PAN/EPFO linking facility which is authentication-based facility.
UIDAI said that as it was going through an essential security upgrade in its systems in a phased manner over the last week, some intermittent service interruptions were reported only in the enrolment and mobile update service facility at a few enrolment/update centres, which too is working fine now, after upgradation.
UIDAI further said that even though the system has stabilized, it is monitoring the same to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the residents. It may be noted that more than 51 lakh residents have been enrolled in last 9 days since the beginning of the upgradation process on 20th August 2021 at an average of 5.68 lakh enrolment per day while authentication transactions have taken place as usual on an average of more than 5.3 crore authentications per day.
UIDAI while responding to a few media reports on the so-called UIDAI system outages in linking Aadhaar with PAN/EPFO said that such media reports are not accurate.
Ministry of Steel
Disinvestment of Steel Plant
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs , in its meeting held on 27.10.2016, had accorded in-principle approval for Strategic Disinvestment, inter-alia, of Salem Steel Plant , Salem - a Unit of Steel Authority of India Limited . Expression of Interest  was floated on 04.07.2019 and multiple Eols have been received. The transaction is still active and at present, in Stage-II level.
The consent of State Government of Tamil Nadu for strategic disinvestment of Salem Steel Plant has not been sought.
Legitimate concerns of the existing employees and other stakeholders including trade unions are suitably addressed during the disinvestment process.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM reviews usage of Gaseous Oxygen for Medical Purposes
Gaseous oxygen to be used for medical purposes
Temporary hospitals are being set up adjacent to plants with availability of Gaseous Oxygen
Around 10,000 oxygenated beds to be made available through this initiative
State governments being encouraged to set up more such facilities
1500 PSA oxygen generation plants are in the process of being set up
In line with his direction of exploring innovative ways to ramp up supply and availability of oxygen, PM Modi today chaired a meeting to review the usage of gaseous oxygen.
Many industries like Steel plants, refineries with petrochemical units, industries using rich combustion process, power plants etc have oxygen plants which produce gaseous oxygen which is used in the process. This oxygen can be tapped for medical use.
The strategy being used is to identify industrial units which produce gaseous oxygen of requisite purity, shortlist those which are closer to cities/dense areas/demand centres and establish temporary Covid care centres with oxygenated beds near that source. A pilot for 5 such facilities had already been initiated and there is good progress on this. This is being accomplished through PSUs or private industries operating the plant & co-ordination of centre & state governments.
It is expected that around 10,000 oxygenated beds can be made available in a short period of time by making temporary hospitals near such plants.
State governments are being encouraged to set up more such facilities with oxygenated beds to deal with the pandemic.
PM also reviewed progress on setting up of PSA plants. He was informed that around 1500 PSA plants are in the process of being set up through contribution of PM CARES, PSUs and others. He directed officials to ensure speedy completion of these plants.
Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary Road Transport & Highways & other senior officials participated in the meeting.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Cabinet approves Concession Agreements & Land Lease Agreements for revival of Gorakhpur & Sindri units of FCIL and Barauni unit of HFCL by HURL and approval for providing land on lease.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal -
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to provide land on lease to Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited ;
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to provide the Concession Agreements & Land Lease Agreements for the revival of Gorakhpur & Sindri units of Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited  and Barauni unit of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited  by HURL; and
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to authorize Inter-Ministerial Committee  to approve Substitution Agreements and approve other agreements, if any to be signed between FCIL/HFCL and HURL for the three projects at Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni.
Impact
The revival of Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni units of FCIL/HFCL will ensure substantial investment in the fertilizer sector. These units will act as anchor customer to Jagdishpur-Haldia Pipeline  gas pipeline being laid for development of critical infrastructure in Eastern India. This will create job opportunities in the region and also boost the economy of the eastern region/state. The revival of fertilizer unit will also augment indigenous production of urea thereby enhancing self-reliance in urea.
Details
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HURL, a Joint Venture company of NTPC, IOCL, CIL and FCIL/ HFCL was incorporated in June 2016 to implement the fertilizer revival projects at Gorakhpur, Sindri, and Barauni.
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In order to facilitate HURL to set up the fertilizer projects at the three locations, Lease Deeds are to be signed with HURL by FCIL/HFCL. The lease of land is for a period of 55 years.
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The Lessee  would pay a nominal Lease Rent of Rs.1 lakh per annum to the Lessor .
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Concession Agreements for the three projects at Sindri & Gorakhpur Units of FCIL and Barauni Unit of HFCL are to be entered between FCIL/HFCL and HURL  for the purpose of giving a right to HURL to carry out complete design, engineering, construction, procurement, testing, commissioning, operate and maintaining fertilizer plants and market its products.
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Substitution Agreement which is a tri-patriate Agreement amongst HURL, Lenders' representative for the specific project and FCIL/HFCL for the purpose of assignment of the land to enable HURL to obtain finances may be required to be signed after Lenders' syndication is completed for each of the projects.
Ministry of Education
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan calls for a modern, technology based approach for teaching of Hindi language
Promotion of all Indian languages among the topmost priorities of the Government - Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has called for a modern, technology based approach for teaching of Hindi language in different parts of the country. The Minister chaired a meeting of the Governing Council of Kendriya Hindi Shikshan Mandal, Agra in New Delhi today. Kendriya Hindi Shikshan Mandal is the society that runs the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan.
While reviewing the ongoing and proposed work plan of the Sansthan for the current year, Shri Pradhan emphasized the need to consolidate and synergize the work of all Central educational institutions and other organizations involved in various aspects of teaching Hindi language to people in the country and abroad. He said that promotion of all Indian languages is among the topmost priorities of the Government, and this also finds an echo in the recommendations of NEP 2020. The Minister further said that a knowledge of Hindi was an important binding factor for people with different mother-tongues. He called upon Kendriya Hindi Sansthan to expand its courses for training Hindi teachers especially in non-Hindi speaking states through online means so that its reach could be increased manifold. He also stressed that the courses being offered should be in sync with the emerging demands and requirements.
Kendriya Hindi Sansthan is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education that is tasked with improving the standards of Hindi teaching at various levels, training of Hindi teachers and advanced study of Hindi language, literature and comparative linguistics of different Indian languages in relation to Hindi.
Ministry of Defence
11th India-Mongolia Joint Working Group Meeting Held in New Delhi
The 11th meeting of India-Mongolia Joint Working Group was held today on 10th February 2023 in New Delhi. Both sides reviewed the progress on various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives and identified means to further enhance the existing areas of cooperation and articulated steps in this direction. During the meeting, both the sides expressed satisfaction at the ongoing defense cooperation between the two countries despite the limitations imposed by Covid-19 pandemic.
Co-chaired by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, India and Brigadier General Gankhuyag Davagdorj, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Mongolia, the Joint Working Group met for the first time in person since the pandemic. Both sides acknowledged the growing ties between the countries.
It may be recalled that India established diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955. The Indian Resident Mission in Ulaanbaatar was opened in 1971. This relationship was upgraded to “strategic partnership” in 2015 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mongolia and declared it as an essential component of ‘Act East Policy’.
Ministry of Steel
Steel Export
Steel is a deregulated sector, and the role of the Government is that of a facilitator. Export of steel is dependent on factors such as global market conditions, demand and supply, cost of input raw materials such as iron ore, coking coal etc. which are market linked. To facilitate a more conducive policy environment for more competitive domestic steel making and therefore exports, Government has taken many steps, including the following: -
- Policy intervention through calibration of import and export duties on iron ore, pellets, coking coal, iron and steel products between May-November ’22.
- Mining and Mineral Policy reforms to enhance production/availability of iron ore.
- Reduction of Basic Customs Duty uniformly to 7.5% on Semis, Flat and Long products of non-alloy, alloy and stainless steels vide Union Budget 2021-22.
- Exemption of Basic Customs Duty  on CRGO raw materials and steel scrap up to 31.03.2024.
- Notification of steel scrap recycling policy to enhance availability of domestically generated scrap.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Steel and Rural
Development, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Cabinet approves continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats beyond 12th Plan
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats beyond the 12thPlan period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The Scheme consists of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger , Development of Wildlife Habitats  and Project Elephant . The total outlay is Rs. 1731.72 crore as central share  from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
A total of 18 tiger range States, distributed in five landscapes of the country would be benefitted under the Project Tiger scheme. Similarly, for other two schemes, the coverage is entire country in case of Development of Wildlife Habitats  and 23 elephant range States for Project Elephant. It would foster wildlife conservation in general with specific inputs for tiger in Project Tiger area and elephant in Project Elephant area.
Besides immense environmental benefits and effective implementation of tiger conservation inputs in and around tiger reserves under Project Tiger, wildlife conservation inputs in Protected Areas & nearby areas under Development of Wildlife Habitats and Elephant conservation inputs in Project Elephant areas, the schemes would result in overall strengthening/ consolidation of tiger, elephant and wildlife conservation in the country.
The schemes would address the human wildlife conflict effectively. Besides, the communities opting for voluntary relocation from the Core/Critical Tiger Habitat  would be benefitted under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger  and 800 families under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Development of Wildlife Habitat.
These schemes would generate employment opportunities resulting in economic upliftment of people in and around tiger reserves/ Protected Areas besides leading to reduction in natural resource dependency with substitution by clean energy use. It will generate direct employment of about 30 lakh mandays annually which shall include many local tribes besides non-tribal local workforce. People living in vicinity would also get indirect benefits. Local populace would get opportunities to serve as guides, driver, hospitality personnel and in other ancillary jobs. These schemes would foster imparting various skills towards making people self-dependent through various eco-development projects, thereby enabling them to go for self-employment.
These schemes would result in resource generation through tourist visits, thereby fostering in securing tiger source areas and other areas important for wildlife conservation, besides being helpful in sustaining life support systems as well as ensuring the food, water and livelihood security.
The implementation of the schemes would be done through the respective States in designated Tiger Reserves, Protected Areas and Elephant Reserves.
Ministry of Education
108 STUDENTS AWARDED B.TECH DEGREE IN THE FIRST CONVOCATION OF IIIT KALYANI
Kolkata, June 24, 2019
108 students from the first two batches, 2018 and 2019 of Indian Institute of Information Technology Kalyani, were awarded B.Tech. degree in Computer Science and Engineering in course of the 1st annual convocation held on Sunday .
The toppers of the batches – Shri Atul Sahay for 2018 batch and Shri Dhruva Mishra for 2019were awarded the President of India Gold Medal. The Institute which aims to maintain a healthy gender ratio has introduced Best Female Graduate Award which was conferred on Kumari Gudipally Harshini for 2018 and Kumari Vasudha for 2019. The Institute also awarded prizes to the top three academic performers.
The Governor of West Bengal Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi was the Chief Guest on this occasion. Congratulating the first batch of the Institute, he said, effective network groups is needed while maintaining individual identity and focusing on a common goal. He also emphasized upon the importance of having entrepreneurial ventures for taking the nation forward. The President, Union Minister of HRD, Chief Minister of West Bengal and other dignitaries conveyed their blessings on this occasion.
Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, Director IIT Kharagpur who is also the Mentor Director of IIIT Kalyani made a special mention of the exemplary placement record of the Institute. The placement record has been 85% for both batches and there has been 100% internship for all students. The faculty members and students of the Institute have published more than 50 papers in reputed international and national journals and attended more than 15 international conferences in India and abroad in the last one year.
It may be mentioned that IIIT Kalyani started its journey on 21st May, 2014 under mentorship of then Director, IIEST Shibpur, Prof. Ajoy Kumar Roy. In February 2017, the mentorship was transferred to IIT Kharagpur by MHRD.
CC/SC
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PIB Headquarters
PIB’S BULLETIN ON COVID-19
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- 189.48 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
- India's Active caseload currently stands at 19,509
- Active cases stand at 0.05%
- Recovery Rate currently at 98.74%
- 2,802 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to
4,25,44,689
- 3,205 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
- Daily positivity rate 
- Weekly Positivity Rate 
- 83.89 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 3,27,327 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
#Unite2FightCorona #IndiaFightsCorona
Press Information Bureau
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Government of India
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Antibiotic Residue In Milk
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India  has informed that it has specified the standards of milk under Food Safety and Standards  Regulations, 2011. Further, the tolerance limits for various antibiotics and veterinary drugs in milk and other food products is specified in sub-regulation 2.3.2 of Food Safety and Standards  Regulations, 2011 and amendments thereof.
All Food Business Operators involved in processing and sale of milk are required to adhere to the specified Regulations. Implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 primarily lies with State/UT Governments. Commissioners of Food Safety of States/UTs conduct surveillance, sampling, inspection and enforcement drives through their food safety officials to ensure the quality and safety of milk and milk products conforms to specified standards.
FSSAI has recognized and notified 240 National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories  accredited food testing laboratories across the country. Also, for on-the-spot testing of adulterants in milk and milk products, 173 mobile food testing laboratories equipped with rapid milk analyzer have been sanctioned/ provided to the States/UTs.
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying , Government of India has informed that it had issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories regarding the judicious use of antibiotic for treatment of ailing food producing animals. Further, it was also advised that use of antibiotics should be discouraged, if not essential and development, production and use of alternative antibiotic free growth promoters should be encouraged.
The National Milk Safety and Quality Survey, 2018 was conducted by FSSAI. The details of the survey are available on the website of FSSAI i.e https://www.fssai.gov.in/upload/press_release/2019/10/5da973ffaefcfPress_Release_Milk_Survey_Report_18_10_2019.pdf
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharti Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.